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Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/from-diapers-to-mouths-of-babes-how-splash-pads-sickened-over-10k/

There's nothing quite like a deep dive into the shallow, vomitous puddles of children's splash pads. [...] But the brave souls at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have done it, wading into 25 years' worth of records on gastrointestinal outbreaks linked to the wellsprings of fecal pathogens. And they unsurprisingly found enough retch-inducing results to make any modern-day John Snows want to start removing some water handles. [...] In all, the outbreaks led to at least 10,611 illnesses, 152 hospitalizations, and 99 emergency department visits. People, mostly children, were sickened with pathogens including Cryptosporidium, Camplyobacter jejuni, Giardia duodenalis, Salmonella, Shigella, and norovirus, according to the analysis, published Tuesday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The tallies of outbreaks and illnesses are likely undercounts, given reporting delays and missed connections.

Though previous outbreak-based studies have provided bursts of data, the new analysis is the first to provide a comprehensive catalog of all the documented outbreaks since splash pads erupted in the 1990s. [...] Once infectious material gets into the water, disinfection systems that aren't working properly or are inadequate can allow pathogens to gush from every nozzle. Splash pads aren't unique in having to handle sick children in poopy swim diapers—but they are unique in how they are regulated. That is, in some places, they're not regulated at all. [...] The primary method for keeping recreational water free of infectious viruses and bacteria is chlorinating it. However, maintaining germ-killing chlorine concentration is especially difficult for splash pads because the jets and sprays aerosolize chlorine, lowering the concentration.

Still, in most splash-pad linked outbreaks, standard chlorine concentrations aren't enough anyway. [...] In 2023, the CDC recommended new health codes that call for "secondary disinfection" methods to keep Crypto at bay, including disinfection systems using ozone or ultraviolet light. Another possible solution is to have "single-pass" splash pads that don't recirculate water.

In all, to keep splash pads from being geysers of gastrointestinal parasites and pathogens, various changes have to happen, the CDC experts say.

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looorg writes:

LinkedIn have become a AI regurgitation chamber. More than half of all text, longer then 100 words, is now assumed to be AI generated.

https://www.wired.com/story/linkedin-ai-generated-influencers/

Originality scanned a sample of 8,795 public LinkedIn posts over 100 words long that were published from January 2018 to October 2024. For the first few years, the use of AI writing tools on LinkedIn was negligible. A major increase then occurred at the beginning of 2023. "The uptick happened when ChatGPT came out," says Originality CEO Jon Gillham. At that point, Originality found the number of likely AI-generated posts had spiked 189 percent; it has since leveled off.

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c0lo writes:

First image of the shape of a single photon revealed in light study

The first direct visualization of the shape of a photon has been created. These particles of light are impossible to photograph, but physicists at the University of Birmingham have now calculated their wave function to produce an accurate image of a photon as it's emitted.
...
However, one thing photons can never capture images of is other photons. That's because they don't interact with each other in any way. But now, Birmingham physicists have created the next best thing: a mathematically accurate visualization of the shape of a photon.

"The visualization is an exact simulation of a photon as it is emitted by an atom sitting on the surface of a nanoparticle," co-author Ben Yuen told New Atlas. "The shape of the photon is deeply affected by the nanoparticle, making it thousands of times more likely that the photon is emitted, and even allowing it to be reabsorbed by the atom multiple times."
...
... Instead, it's an intensity distribution – basically, a map of where you could expect to find the photon at a certain point in time. Brighter areas indicate a higher chance of the photon appearing there when its location is measured.

"The visualization is exactly that distribution of a photon a short time after it has been emitted," Yuen told us. "Because it's a quantum particle you cannot measure it in one go as the measurement destroys it. However, if you were to repeat the measurement of where a photon was detected many times, you would see exactly this distribution.

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

It's orangeish-green, with blue spikes, on a dark background

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/12/certain-names-make-chatgpt-grind-to-a-halt-and-we-know-why/

OpenAI's ChatGPT is more than just an AI language model with a fancy interface. It's a system consisting of a stack of AI models and content filters that make sure its outputs don't embarrass OpenAI or get the company into legal trouble when its bot occasionally makes up potentially harmful facts about people.

Recently, that reality made the news when people discovered that the name "David Mayer" breaks ChatGPT. 404 Media also discovered that the names "Jonathan Zittrain" and "Jonathan Turley" caused ChatGPT to cut conversations short. And we know another name, likely the first, that started the practice last year: Brian Hood.

[...] When asked about these names, ChatGPT responds with "I'm unable to produce a response" or "There was an error generating a response" before terminating the chat session, according to Ars' testing.

[...] ChatGPT-breaking names found so far through a communal effort taking place on [social media] and [Reddit].

• Brian Hood
• Jonathan Turley
• Jonathan Zittrain
• David Faber
• Guido Scorza

[...] We first discovered that ChatGPT choked on the name "Brian Hood" in mid-2023 while writing about his defamation lawsuit. In that lawsuit, the Australian mayor threatened to sue OpenAI after discovering ChatGPT falsely claimed he had been imprisoned for bribery when, in fact, he was a whistleblower who had exposed corporate misconduct.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

The world currently produces more than 50 million tonnes of “mismanaged” plastic waste each year, and some researchers project this flood of pollution into the environment will double by mid-century. However, they also say that if countries can agree to adopt four key policies during global plastic treaty negotiations this week, we could slash that by 90 per cent.

Plastic pollution ends up clogging ecosystems on land and at sea. “This has an impact on every level of the food chain, from phytoplankton cells to humans,” says Sarah-Jeanne Royer at the University of California, San Diego. Plastics are also responsible for about 5 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

That is why most of the world’s countries are meeting in Busan, South Korea, this week to hammer out the final details of a global treaty aimed at ending such pollution. In 2022, 175 countries agreed to develop a legally binding treaty and have spent the past two years debating its requirements, with particular disagreements over setting limits on the production of new plastic.

To bring more clarity to the debate, Douglas McCauley at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues used an artificial intelligence model trained on economic data to test how the policies under consideration would affect this pollution globally. “I wasn’t convinced that [eliminating plastic pollution] was actually possible,” says McCauley. “But it turns out you can get pretty darn close.”

According to their projections, under current conditions, such pollution is set to roughly double to between 100 and 139 million tonnes by 2050. But a combination of four policies, all of which are still on the table in the current treaty draft, were enough to reduce this by more than 90 per cent.

The most impactful was a mandate that plastic products contain at least 40 per cent recycled material. That rule alone cuts plastic pollution in half by mid-century. This effect is so significant because it reduces demand for newly made or “virgin” plastic, while also spurring demand for recycled materials, says McCauley. “Suddenly there’s a giant global market for recycling.”

But recycling on its own wasn’t sufficient. “If your target is to end plastic pollution, you need to do things across the entire life cycle,” he says. Deeper cuts required limiting production of virgin plastics to 2020 levels. This cap cuts plastic pollution by around 60 million tonnes per year by the middle of the century, according to the model. This change also had the greatest impact on greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, as extracting fossil fuels and turning them into virgin plastics involves emissions-intensive processes.

DannyB writes:

The Beginning of the End of Big Tech

From politicians to VC firms, everyone is falling out of love with the massive, money-oriented, global technology titans. In their place, we have the chance to build something open and trustworthy.

Next year will be Big Tech's finale. Critique of Big Tech is now common sense, voiced by a motley spectrum that unites opposing political parties, mainstream pundits, and even tech titans such as the VC powerhouse Y Combinator, which is singing in harmony with giants like a16z in proclaiming fealty to "little tech" against the centralized power of incumbents.

Why the fall from grace? One reason is that the collateral consequences of the current Big Tech business model are too obvious to ignore. The list is old hat by now: centralization, surveillance, information control. It goes on, and it's not hypothetical. Concentrating such vast power in a few hands does not lead to good things. No, it leads to things like the CrowdStrike outage of mid-2024, when corner-cutting by Microsoft led to critical infrastructure—from hospitals to banks to traffic systems—failing globally for an extended period.

Another reason Big Tech is set to falter in 2025 is that the frothy AI market, on which Big Tech bet big, is beginning to lose its fizz.

[.... rest omitted....]

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

As we age, our bodies slow down — not just in how we move, but also at the cellular level, where a decline in protein mobility may contribute to the development of chronic health issues.

Molecular stress brought on by diabetes, fatty liver disease and other chronic conditions can all cause proteins to put on the brakes. Instead of zipping around the cell and bumping into each other to perform vital tasks, these proteins become ensnared in chemical traffic jams, creating a kind of widespread sluggishness termed “proteolethargy.”

Such lethargy occurs when proteins with a sticky building block on their surface interact with harmful by-products from chronic inflammation and stress, causing the proteins to clump together and crawl to a near standstill, researchers report November 27 in Cell.

The result: Cells struggle to function, triggering the collapse of crucial biological systems — a hallmark feature of aging-related maladies.

This molecular bottleneck may be a “common denominator” underpinning many of life’s ailments, says cell biologist Alessandra Dall’Agnese, of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass. “It’s a unifying mechanism.”

Nearly half of all proteins in the body carry the sticky residue implicated in protein malfunction, putting countless cellular processes — metabolism, cell repair, immune defense, gene regulation and more — at risk of grinding to a halt.

Antioxidants and drugs that counteract the stickiness of proteins can partially restore protein mobility, Dall’Agnese and her colleagues note in the paper. The findings could pave the way for therapies designed to ease these molecular roadblocks and tackle the root causes of chronic disease.

Journal Reference:
Proteolethargy is a pathogenic mechanism in chronic disease, Alessandra Dall'Agnese, Ming M. Zheng, Shannon Moreno, et al., Cell, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.051

Original Submission

upstart writes:

'God of management' comes back to life as an AI model:

Panasonic Holdings has created an artificial intelligence clone of its late founder Konosuke Matsushita based on his writings, speeches, and over 3,000 voice recordings, the company announced Wednesday.

Known as Japan's "god of management," the Panasonic icon is one of the most respected by the Japanese business community, and comes back to life in digital form to impart wisdom directly to those he never met in person.

"As the number of people who received training directly from Matsushita has been on the decline, we decided to use generative AI technology to pass down our group's founding vision to the next generation," the company said in a statement.

Codeveloped with the University of Tokyo-affiliated Matsuo Institute, the model can reproduce how a person thinks or talks. The company aims to further develop the digital clone to help make business decisions in the future.

Matsushita, who died in 1989, pushed the company to become a leader in consumer electronics, and is often picked as one of the most respected Japanese business leaders of all time. His book "The Path" is regularly seen as a must-read for businesspeople in the country.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Chinese Ship's Crew Suspected of Deliberately Dragging Anchor for 100 Miles to Cut Baltic Cables:

A Chinese commercial vessel that has been surrounded by European warships in international waters for [several weeks] is central to an investigation of suspected sabotage that threatens to test the limits of maritime law—and heighten tensions between Beijing and European capitals.

Investigators suspect that the crew of the Yi Peng 3 bulk carrier—225 meters long, 32 meters wide and loaded with Russian fertilizer—deliberately severed two critical data cables last week as its anchor was dragged along the Baltic seabed for over 100 miles.

Their probe now centers on whether the captain of the Chinese-owned ship, which departed the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, was induced by Russian intelligence to carry out the sabotage. It would be the latest in a series of attacks on Europe's critical infrastructure that law-enforcement and intelligence officials say have been orchestrated by Russia.

"It's extremely unlikely that the captain would not have noticed that his ship dropped and dragged its anchor, losing speed for hours and cutting cables on the way," said a senior European investigator involved in the case.

Related: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=24/11/20/2252220

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

In a landmark decision, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted SpaceX and T-Mobile a license to offer satellite-based mobile connectivity directly to smartphones. The two companies have been working in partnership with an aim to eradicate cellular dead zones across the United States by leveraging SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. (h/t: Reuters)

This development comes on the heels of a temporary approval granted to T-Mobile and SpaceX in October, which allowed them to offer satellite-based features to affected areas in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. The temporary approval provided a preview of what’s to come with the expanded satellite coverage.

Instead of relying on traditional cell towers, T-Mobile will now be able to tap into SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to provide cellular service directly to smartphones. This marks a significant shift in how the FCC approaches wireless communication, as it’s the first time a satellite operator has been allowed to work with a wireless carrier in this way, using specific spectrum bands originally intended for ground-based networks.

[...] However, not everyone is on board with the plan. AT&T and Verizon have previously voiced concerns that SpaceX’s satellite technology could interfere with their existing networks, especially with the proposed increase in power levels for satellite transmissions.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Whether you’re manufacturing cement, steel, chemicals, or paper, you need a large amount of heat. Almost without exception, manufacturers around the world create that heat by burning fossil fuels.

In an effort to clean up the industrial sector, some startups are changing manufacturing processes for specific materials. Some are even changing the materials themselves. Daniel Stack SM ’17, PhD ’21 is trying to address industrial emissions across the board by replacing the heat source.

Since coming to MIT in 2014, Stack has worked to develop thermal batteries that use electricity to heat up a conductive version of ceramic firebricks, which have been used as heat stores and insulators for centuries. In 2021, Stack co-founded Electrified Thermal Solutions, which has since demonstrated that its firebricks can store heat efficiently for hours and discharge it by heating air or gas up to 3,272 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to power the most demanding industrial applications.

Achieving temperatures north of 3,000 F represents a breakthrough for the electric heating industry, as it enables some of the world’s hardest-to-decarbonize sectors to utilize renewable energy for the first time. It also unlocks a new, low-cost model for using electricity when it’s at its cheapest and cleanest.

“We have a global perspective at Electrified Thermal, but in the U.S. over the last five years, we've seen an incredible opportunity emerge in energy prices that favors flexible offtake of electricity,” Stack says. “Throughout the middle of the country, especially in the wind belt, electricity prices in many places are negative for more than 20 percent of the year, and the trend toward decreasing electricity pricing during off-peak hours is a nationwide phenomenon. Technologies like our Joule Hive Thermal Battery will enable us to access this inexpensive, clean electricity and compete head to head with fossil fuels on price for industrial heating needs, without even factoring in the positive climate impact.”

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

As AI-generated content gets more ubiquitous in our everyday lives, you may be wondering, "How do I identify AI text?"

It's no surprise that these models get more difficult to detect as AI technology evolves. For now, the good news is that content such as images and video aren't that hard to parse with the human eye.

If you're a teacher or just a seasoned internet traveler, what's the secret to spotting AI-generated text? Well, it's simpler than you might think: use your eyes. There are actually ways to train the human eye to discern AI statements. Experts like MIT Technology Review's Melissa Heikkilä write that the "magic" of these machines "lies in the illusion of correctness."

No two people write in the same way, but there are common patterns. If you've ever worked a corporate job, you know how everyone uses the same generic phrasing when drafting memos to their boss. That’s why AI text detectors often flag content as "likely AI-generated" — because distinguishing between a bland human writing style and a generic AI-generated voice is nearly impossible.

So here's some tips and tricks to spot some potential AI-generated text:

• Look for frequent use of words like "the," "it," and "its."
• Absence of typos—AI text is often too perfect.
• Conclusionary statements that neatly sum up paragraphs.
• Overly verbose or padded writing.
• False or fabricated information and sources.
• A tone more advanced than the writer's usual submissions.
• Repetitive phrasing or oddly polished grammar.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

The government of the United Kingdom on Monday announced the formation of a Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) to make the nation more resilient to AI-powered cyber threats from Russia.

"Be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia," said the Right Honourable Pat McFadden MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, at the NATO Cyber Defence Conference on Monday. "We know exactly what they are doing, and we are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes."

McFadden said that Russia is increasingly shifting its offense online rather than putting boots on the ground. As we've seen in the war against Ukraine, Russia has struck infrastructure targets digitally. The Chancellor warned that the situation will get worse, not better.

"Cyber war is now a daily reality. One where our defenses are constantly being tested. The extent of the threat must be matched by the strength of our resolve to combat it and to protect our citizens and systems. 75 years after its foundation, it is clear we need NATO more than ever," he added.

"NATO has stayed relevant over the last seven decades by constantly adapting to new threats. It has navigated the worlds of nuclear proliferation and militant nationalism," McFadden noted. "AI is already revolutionising many parts of life - including national security. But as we develop this technology, there’s a danger it could be weaponised against us. Because our adversaries are also looking at how to use AI on the physical and cyber battlefield."

[...] "Today we have launched a new, world-leading research lab to enhance AI security to ensure the UK and our allies reap the benefits of AI, while detecting, disrupting and deterring adversaries who would use it to undermine our national security and economic prosperity," added Stephen Doughty, the UK's Minister for Europe, North America and UK Overseas Territories.

[...] "Putin is a man who wants destruction, not peace. He is trying to deter our support for Ukraine with his threats. He will not be successful," McFadden pledged.

"We know from history that appeasing dictators engaged in aggression against their neighbours only encourages them. Britain learned long ago the importance of standing strong in the face of such actions."

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

AMD may not manufacture its own chips anymore, but that hasn't stopped it from investing in research and custom process technologies for its chips. Now, the company has its sights on the innovative material that's set to replace organic substrates and revolutionize chip packaging – glass. A new patent covers the use of glass core substrates, possibly for advanced multi-chiplet processors.

Glass substrates are ultra-thin, flat, transparent sheets made of high-purity silica or borosilicate glass. They serve as a base for semiconductor devices, enabling advanced packaging and interconnect solutions. Compared to silicon or organic substrates, glass offers superior thermal stability, reduced signal loss, and exceptional dimensional accuracy, making it ideal for high-frequency applications like 5G and AI processing.

However, integrating glass substrates into chip designs is not without its challenges. One of the key hurdles, as outlined in AMD's patent and summarized by Tom's Hardware, is the implementation of Through Glass Vias (TGVs) – vertical pathways within the glass core that transmit data signals and power. While techniques like laser drilling, wet etching, and magnetic self-assembly are being explored, the latter two remain relatively novel technologies in this domain.

Another crucial component addressed in the patent is the redistribution layers, which route signals and power between the chip and external components using high-density interconnections. Unlike the main glass core substrates, these layers will continue to utilize organic dielectric materials and copper and will be constructed on one side of the glass wafer.

Interestingly, the patent also describes a method for bonding multiple glass substrates using copper instead of traditional solder bumps. This approach not only ensures strong, gap-free connections but also enhances reliability and eliminates the need for underfill materials, making it suitable for stacking multiple substrates.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

The Biden administration on Friday hosted telco execs to chat about China's recent attacks on the sector, amid revelations that US networks may need mass rebuilds to recover.

Details of the extent of China's attacks came from senator Mark R Warner, who on Thursday gave both The Washington Post and The New York Times insights into info he's learned in his role as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Warner told the Post, "my hair is on fire," given the severity of China's attacks on US telcos. The attacks, which started well before the US election, have seen Middle Kingdom operatives establish a persistent presence – and may require the replacement of "literally thousands and thousands and thousands" of switches and routers.

The senator added that China's activities make Russia-linked incidents like the SolarWinds supply chain incident and the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline look like "child’s play."

Warner told The Times the extent of China's activity remains unknown, and that "The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open."

[...] For what it's worth, China claims the US makes this stuff up – but hasn't offered an alternative explanation.

The day after Warner chatted to the newspapers, the Biden administration’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan and deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger met with telecom execs. According to a White House readout of the chat, they used the opportunity to "share intelligence and discuss the People's Republic of China's significant cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector."

Which rather suggests there's more info about this situation that's not available to the public.

Original Submission